This invention relates to an automatically driven cart particularly suitable for transporting golf clubs and other accessories on golf courses.
Carts for transporting golf clubs during the course of a game are, as well known, largely used on golf courses, thanks to the favorable economic aspect in respect of the electric vehicles transporting players and thanks, also, to the choice of the user for a more complete physical activity.
Most of said carts are provided with electric drive motors fed by on board batteries and are operated manually or by remote control devices using the steering and traction functions of the cart.
It has to be considered that the remote control operated cart does not produce tangible advantages for the person using it because, even if there is a reduction in the effort of carrying the clubs, there is still a necessary effort in concentrating on operating the remote control, which could result, in some cases, as stressful as carrying the golf bag. So, it has been searched, in the past, a solution to the problem of automatically transporting golf bags and clubs on the golf courses without requiring particular attention of the player and they have been proposed battery powered carts studied for following the user, however, never entered into practical use owing the sophisticated and expensive radio-controlled based techniques employed.
In particular, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,109,186 is shown all user following cart including a radio controlled guidance and speed control system in which spaced receivers are located on the vehicle for receiving magnetic energy signals from a signal source associated with the user.
In such a system the control of the vehicle involves some difficulties; in fact, it is based on the energy level differencies of the signals received by the receivers, and therefore, owing to the very small distances between the receivers, the above differencies are not suitable to be revealed and processed in a reliable way.
A more general and complete solution to the problem of serving the user on a golf course is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,711,388 that concerns a computerized, autonomous, robotic caddy capable of storing mapped areas and navigation rules an capable, also, of interacting with a global surveillance apparatus in order to serve the golfer around a golf course.
In this case, the cart is capable of decision making, emulating so a human caddy, and even more, it can give the user detailed informations about the environment of the play, but, it has to be noted that also in this case, when the cart interacts directly with the human user, the same problems of the former solution are encountered considering that, also in this case, the location of the golfer involves the directional sensing of radio signals transmitted from a beacon carried by the golfer itself.
So, in order to obtain an automatic transporting of golf bags and clubs with no or minimal attention required to the player, it urges, among others, to seek a solution to the problem of locating in a reliable way the player in respect of the cart by using techniques well fitting the dimensions of the cart and the distances involved in the process.
Furthermore, we need also to consider that golf carts are generally very essential because they are conceived to resolve in the most economical way the problem of transporting the clubs, without taking under consideration, for example, space to carry other accessories. Most of these carts, in fact, have a very simple structure, with a maximum of three wheels, one of which is almost always very small.
It is the primary object of the present invention to provide a cart with electrical propulsion for transporting golf clubs or other objects and accessories, with an innovative cost-effective guidance system completely automatic, in relation to the position of the player on the field, and having structural characteristics made to create high levels of reliability.
Another object of the invention is to provide a cart in which it will be possible to situate and protect golf clubs or bags and other accessories deemed useful in the development of the game and that furthermore, presents particular features of safety, handiness and transportability.
According to its broadest aspect, the present invention provides a cart for transporting golf clubs or other objects and accessories, wherein one or more electric drive motors are connected to one or more wheels of said cart, said motor or motors being fed by a battery installed on board, one or more electronic controllers are operated to control the motor or motors in both directions of movement a plurality of sensors, peripherally disposed on the cart, are used to detect the presence of obstacles in the path of the cart and to sense the signals coming from an external ultrasonic signal source positioned in view of said sensors and associated with the user, at least a microcomputer control unit, interfacing said sensors, is capable of driving said electronic controller or controllers according to an algorithm useful to lead said cart into the proximity of said external signal source.
In a preferred arrangement, the mechanical structure of the cart comprises two wheels aligned on a horizontal transversal axle located in correspondence of the advance section of the cart, said wheels being separately connected to the frame and to two respective traction motors, and one or more wheels, located in correspondence to the opposite section of the cart, connected to the frame by cylindrical hinge with vertical axle so that they can freely rotate around their own horizontal axle and also around said vertical axle passing in the proximity of the point of contact on the ground of said wheel or wheels.
In one particular embodiment, the mechanical structure of the cart comprises two wheels aligned on a horizontal transversal axle, located in correspondence of the advance section of the cart, connected to a steering mechanism controlled by an electric actuator, and one or more wheels, located in correspondence to the opposite section of the cart, connected to an electric traction motor. The microcomputer control unit is fitted, in this embodiment, to drive the controller of the traction motor as well as the aforementioned electric actuator of the steering mechanism.
It is to be noted that in this particular embodiment, an extra wheel, vertically movable through the help of a specific lever, allows the manual movement of the cart.
The cart of present invention comprises also a covering structure of the above mechanical and electrical components, including a container to house golf clubs directly or a place to situate one or more golf bags. In the second case, said bags are restrained, in a removable way, to two parallel shaped bars placed lengthwise in correspondence to each side of the cart, and a cover in rubberized material, or other, for protecting the aforementioned bags is connected to a little auxiliary frame hinged to said shaped bars in such a way that it can be moved from a first position in which said cover is folded inside said covering structure of the cart to a second position in which said cover is extended to protect said golf bags. Said shaped side bars have a useful conformation to be grabbed and to manually move the cart when required; furthermore, said side bars are connected to said covering structure through detachable junctions with the purpose of reducing the whole size of the cart when being transported.
In case that the covering structure comprises containers to accomodate clubs directly, said containers are inclinable in order to reduce even more the whole size of the cart during transportation.
Finally, the covering structure comprises side anti-collision protections and other housings, closed or opened, to host or keep accessories or other objects, and, further, may be equipped with removable securing means for restraining golf bags.
The advantages of the invention are mainly due to the innovative digital based completely automatic and reliable guidance system, that, prevents the player from having to manually drive the cart during his movements on the golf course, however allowing him to choose, when he deems it necessary, to drive the cart manually or by the remote control.
Also the advantages coming from the preferred lay-out, relative to the two front wheels separately connected to two respective electric motors, are clear, as already know those skilled in the art of electric vehicles, in consideration of the simplification of the number of mechanical components required, such as the differential gear and the steering, including its actuator.
From the simplification comes a noticeable limitation of the production time and, also, an increase in the global reliability of the cart.
Others and tangible advantages, concerning the fruition of the cart in the specific application field, come from the aforementioned covering structure.